


If Only We Were Moving

by verboseDescription



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Ableism, Autistic Character, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:36:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1974396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verboseDescription/pseuds/verboseDescription
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: "Kevin and his boyfriend (DB!Carlos or not, up to the author), BF helping Kevin find subtle ways to stim at work. Bonus if both of them are aware of how hecked up Strex is and trying to find a way to rebel that won't end for them like it did for Cecil."</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Only We Were Moving

**Author's Note:**

  * For [secondrobin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/secondrobin/gifts).



He wasn’t _supposed_ to be doing it. It was frowned upon. It was…

_Unproductive._

But Kevin couldn’t help it. He could never help it, even before the Smiling God came to Strex and changed the sky. His eyes looked different then, more normal, but it still unnerved people. He couldn’t remember why.

All he remembered was that he had always considered this behavior bad and The God had just made things worse.

But of course, he couldn’t hate the Smiling God. That wasn’t allowed. It wasn’t even physically possible for him to hate the Smiling God. Kai, Kevin’s wonderful scientist boyfriend, had tested it.

The harder you tried to resist the Smiling God, the more you acted they way it wanted you to.

But that didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t stop rubbing his hands together in an anxious frenzy. No matter how hard they may try, ancient deities cannot change what a person is at their core. That's where the scientists come in. With enough chemicals and questionable work ethic, there isn't a thing that scientists can't fix. It's a miracle, really. A truly stupendous effort on the part of the scientific community.

Kevin doesn't want to be fixed. He doesn't want to be Fixed and so Much Better Now because he's got a Cure. He's not the one who needs a cure--Strexcorp is. Or no, wrong words. What Strexcorp needs is to understand that there's no need for everyone to be the exact same person.

What Kevin needs is for Strexcorp to stop convincing the citizens of Desert Bluffs that wheelchair ramps are such a pain, it's easier to spend thousands or millions of dollars so that everyone can walk.

What Kevin needs is a town that won't destroy his entire personality just because his brain doesn't work like their's.

The simple way of putting it was that Kevin wasn't normal. But it wasn't that. What was wrong with him was that he was not Strexcorp approved. Strexcorp expects a certain degree of ableness from their employees in both their mental and physical state. If they had known about Kevin when he was younger and only communicated in shrieks and signs, Strexcorp would have very politely gotten rid of his parents’ _burden_ of a child because, after all, that was nicest, wasn’t it?

It wouldn’t matter that Kevin had been a wonderful radio host for years if they knew what he was. They couldn’t have a _disabled_ radio host, after all. It might give people ideas. Then who knows how many people would claim disability? Educated adults might start doing research about themselves claiming to have all the symptoms of something like ADHD! (Strexcorp is of the firm belief that if someone has a disability that they can ignore by stuffing their fingers in their ears, then that person is just lazy and should feel bad for wasting time). But Kai, wonderfully, approvable Kai with a _perfect_ beard and lab coat whiter then bleached bones, knows that Kevin can be himself quietly. It’s not the greatest of solutions, but it works.

He had difficulty with facial expressions and tone. So he smiled. He sounded happy. It might increase moral, or whatever.

He can’t look anyone in the eye, not for very long. He bought sunglasses. Desert Bluffs is very hot after all, and who would you be to tell Kevin he can’t wear sunglasses indoors? Sounds like a silly argument to have. Sounds _unproductive._

But even with all of that, there were other things that couldn’t be “fixed” as easily. He was doing one of them.

Kevin continues to rub his hands together until Lauren opens the door. Then his hands are suddenly at his side, so fast not even Lauren can see.

“Shouldn’t you be going home, Kev?” Lauren asks.

“You’re right, of course,” Kevin beams at her and wonders how often he has to tell her not to call him “Kev” before it’ll sink in, “How silly of me. Every Strexcorp employee needs a full night of rest to properly do their job. No matter how much a person enjoys their job, sleep is necessary!”

“For now, anyways,” Lauren agrees and Kevin leaves quickly. Being around Lauren for too long always made him want to insult her. It probably wasn't fair to her, but he hated how good she was at her job.

 

Kai is waiting for him at home and doing something on his tablet. Either work related or Angry Birds.

“I did it again,” Kevin says.

“It’s not a bad thing, you know.”

“It’s something that merits fixing. In the eyes of our employers, that is.”

“What about in your eyes?”

Kevin took off his sunglasses and thought. He used to be very sure of who he was. He used to very sure about whether or not he needed to be fixed. Or, perhaps not. But he had understood he wasn’t broken, until the Smiling God appeared.

“I think that the sun’s clouded my eyes so much I can’t tell what should be anymore,” He replied, “I think you were right and that I will never be the kind of person who thinks I shouldn’t get fixed as long as I live here.”

“Everyone thinks that way, Kevin,” Kai replied, “But no one’s ever left.”

“ _Can_ they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you’re the scientist—figure it out!”

 “I tried to.” And with that Kai goes back to his tablet. Kevin sighs and fiddles with his sunglasses. Even he understands it’s a cue to stop the conversation, but Kevin’s not sure he wants to yet. He understands that Kai doesn't like to think about everything that's happened in Desert Bluffs, especially the cures. As a scientist, it's Kai's job to help the community in ways like developing marketable inventions and new cures. Kai's very bad at his job. He became a scientist to understand the unknown and help people, but that's not what a Desert Bluffs scientist does. Even if Kai can fit in some important science in his lunch breaks, he hasn't done enough to feel like he's done anything. Kevin thinks Kai's being a bit harsh because no one is as productive as Kai is. Not like he is, anyways.

But science has become a bit of a sore topic for Kai and really, Kevin shouldn't have brought it up. But there’s something he has to say about Desert Bluffs. It’s important, probably, but he can’t explain it easily. He always has trouble saying the important things, but generally he can make his thoughts into something translatable. It's just Kevin feels the same as Kai when it comes to Desert Bluffs. He always plans on sneaking some pro-disability stuff on the air, or mention his boyfriend, but as soon as he goes on air, he becomes Strexcorps' Good Employee and he can't do anything. As much as he tries, he can only be himself when he's not being recorded.

There's so many things about Strexcorp that terrify him. There's so many things to say about the horrors being done.

Kevin finds himself staring out the window. Before the Smiling God, things were different. More people were whole. More people were themselves.

“Do you think,” Kevin asks as he rubs his glasses, “That the sky looks broken now?”

Kai looks out the window and considers the sky for a moment.

“I think it’s always been this way,” He says, "It just wasn't this bad."


End file.
